World Cup: Bacca, Cheryshev still in it

A rest day in the World Cup. Villarreal’s representation has been cut significantly:

Alfred N’Diaye—Senegal were eliminated (barely); Alfred started the first two matches, didn’t appear in the third. Villarreal need a defensive midfielder, but don’t seem to be thinking he’s the guy, so are trying to recover most of their investment.

Antonio Rukavina—started and played quite well in Serbia’s last match, played as a late sub in their first one. Rukavina’s contract is up and apparently he is not going to sign a renewal. It’s possible our cantera product Miguelón Lambrich will replace him on the roster.

Salem Al Dawsari—Saudi Arabia were not very good, but Salem started all three matches, looked decent and scored the winning goal in their win over Egypt. His loan period at Villarreal is now over, of course.

The World Cup so far has been interesting to watch, particularly with the introduction of VAR. It hasn’t eliminated refereeing controversies, merely reduced them and provided some new ones. Who is your team to beat now that the knockout rounds are set?